Suspect Arrested in Christmas Day Beltway 8 Shooting Fueled by Mistaken Identity

HOUSTON, TX – Houston police have arrested a suspect in connection with the fatal shooting of a man early Christmas morning along West Sam Houston Parkway South.

Jonathan Ross Mata, 39, has been charged with murder in the 496th Criminal District Court following the Dec. 25, 2025 shooting that left 25-year-old Desmond Butler dead. Mata turned himself in to police without incident on Jan. 14 and was booked into the Harris County Jail.

The shooting occurred around 1:05 a.m. after Butler drove his gray Honda Pilot into a gas station parking lot in the 9900 block of Bellaire Boulevard. Investigators said Butler passed a black GMC Acadia parked at a gas pump as he entered the lot.

According to Houston Police Department homicide investigators, a Hispanic woman exited the GMC and chased Butler’s vehicle, attempting to open the rear passenger door as he drove past. At the same time, a Hispanic man, later identified as Mata, exited the GMC and fired multiple shots toward Butler’s vehicle as it left the parking lot.

Butler was struck by gunfire as he attempted to drive north on the West Sam Houston Parkway feeder road. His vehicle crashed into a pole in a nearby parking lot. The suspects then fled the area northbound on the feeder road in the GMC.

Houston Fire Department paramedics transported Butler to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Further investigation revealed Mata and his wife had received a phone call from their daughter, who claimed she had been assaulted by her boyfriend. Police said the couple went to the area believing their daughter would be dropped off there. Investigators determined Mata and Butler did not know each other and that Mata mistakenly believed the female passenger in Butler’s vehicle was his daughter.

The case remains under investigation by the Houston Police Department Homicide Division.